Small town sweet romances set at the beach are my favorite, so I was excited to grab Summer at Hope Haven on NetGalley early.
Our heroine Emily has had it rough the past year. She lost her parents and brother in a terrible accident, and then her fiance left her. Needing a change in scenery, she heads to Hope Haven on Dune Island to her grandmother’s beach house she’s inherited. She hasn’t spent a summer here since she was a kid, and she’s anxious to travel somewhere no one knows what she’s been through, with the exception of her childhood friend Wilson and his wife who live next door.
Seeing Wilson, who was her brother’s best friend and became like family over the years, is bittersweet. He’s her only real connection to her family left, but he seems uneasy with her visit even though he’s the one who invited her.
An artist who has lost her inspiration, she agreed to take on a mural project for the new pediatric wing at the local hospital where Wilson is a doctor as a sort of tribute to her family, who had all dedicated their lives to helping others. She’s distracted by more than just her memories and Wilson’s moodiness though. There’s also the cute surfer she ran into outside her house on the first day who turns out to be Dr. Luke, as the kids call him, a pediatrician at the hospital loved by…well, everyone it seems.
As she fights her attraction for Luke — who seems to already be dating another doctor — she also finds herself fighting with Wilson, who thinks he’s uncovered a family secret. And then there’s the notes she found from her father to her mother that she can’t quite square with Wilson’s story. She struggles to make sense of this new information that’s in stark contrast to the parents she knew.
I loved how this book explored both her romantic relationship with Luke and also her relationship with her childhood friend Wilson. Ultimately, it’s a tale of the resiliency of the human mind and heart, even in the face of innumerable heartaches.
I read this in one day! I definitely recommend Summer at Hope Haven, and I can’t wait for the second book in the Dune Island series so I can head back to this sweet island community.
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Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
